Some bad news became public on Sunday night with regard to Oilers prospect Oscar Klefbom. After suffering a shoulder injury on October 9, reports indicated that Klefbom was expected to get back on the ice towards the end of November. Now, it appears that the shoulder may require surgery – a move that would cost Klefbom the rest of the 2012-13 season.

If the decision is surgery I will be out six months and playing more this season is out of the question. If that’s the case it’s just for me to start focusing on the next season.

Eriksson states that Klefbom will do a medical exam in Edmonton before making a decision for or against surgery. Eriksson believes Klefbom will follow the Oilers’ advice on what to do next.

At the time of his injury, Klefbom led the Swedish Elite League with a plus-7 rating over 11 contests, and had seen significantly more minutes on the Farjestad blue line this year than he had played last season.

2012-13 was a critical development year for the 19-year old defenceman. Many expect that a strong season in Sweden would have set the stage for an immediate jump to the NHL in 2013-14; scouting reports praise Klefbom highly and some think he would have competed for a job on the Oilers’ blue line this year if he had come over to North America (and there hadn’t been a lockout).

Klefbom is the Oilers’ third significant blue line prospect to suffer serious disease/injury this season. Brandon Davidson was diagnosed with testicular cancer after a decent start to his professional career in Oklahoma, while the highly-touted Martin Gernat has yet to play in the WHL this year after putting up 55 points and a plus-41 rating over 60 contests last season.

Jonathan Willis is a freelance writer.
He currently works for Oilers Nation, Sportsnet, the Edmonton Journal and Bleacher Report.
He's co-written three books and worked for myriad websites, including Grantland, ESPN, The Score, and Hockey Prospectus. He was previously the founder and managing editor of Copper & Blue.

Given that NHL D men generally take a few years to season even after they reach the show, I find this news of almost no consequence. I can't believe the Oilers are stupid enough to assume these young guys would walk in and hold down a spot in their first at-bat.

The guys we really need at D are going to be acquired through trades and deadline deals. As much as some here may wish it to be so, a team full of rookie D-men does nothing much more than compete for the #1 draft pick. You gotta think we're pretty much past that point by now.

At this point I think Ryan Murray got a shoulder injury just because the Oilers thought about drafting him and fate just wanted to cover all its bases. Nail might just go ahead and break his shoulder on his own when the waiting for it and anticipation becomes too much.

I agree that although Oscar is a good prospect I don't think he should play for the Oilers until 2014. Look how long it took Smid to become a good D man and he was a drafted 9th overall. Playing a bunch of kids won't get us anywhere except a losing mentality and we have had enough of that.

Hey Fate...if you're going to kick us in the shins with injuries could you at least do it when the season is running and to roster players so we can genuinely stink and draft high.

Okay, enough ranting. Here's the bright side. Shoulders can be operated upon. They heal, and the player comes back on more or less a defined timeline. Thank the Icemaker that none of these prospects or players have been seriously hit with concussion issues (knock on wood).

Can we just skip training camp for our draft picks this June and send them straight to the operating table? Maybe at the combine MacGregor should just wrench the shoulders out of the sockets of his desired picks so we can mark them as Oilers' property early?

Hey Fate...if you're going to kick us in the shins with injuries could you at least do it when the season is running and to roster players so we can genuinely stink and draft high.

Okay, enough ranting. Here's the bright side. Shoulders can be operated upon. They heal, and the player comes back on more or less a defined timeline. Thank the Icemaker that none of these prospects or players have been seriously hit with concussion issues (knock on wood).

Can we just skip training camp for our draft picks this June and send them straight to the operating table? Maybe at the combine MacGregor should just wrench the shoulders out of the sockets of his desired picks so we can mark them as Oilers' property early?

We dont have a private clinic here owned by Katz do we,cause a lot of guys are racking up the medical insurance bills.

Spend a few bucks on some decent trainers and get these guys on a corrective training regime,before you lose more of them,something is wrong at the core level here.

I could explain but it takes to darn much typing,simply put hockey players from a young age in general are not balanced physically at all ,the intense one tracked focus and training pigeonholes them at ten for gods sakes.I blame the system.In the NewAge Hockey System philosophy balance is a core value of everything.What can I say about any other inferior system ,other than you get what you ask for--and you deserve what you get.

I hope things go well,Taylor has done well,the Oilers seem to have developed excellent recovery protocal,cant say much about the preventative side of things ,but they sure have the recovery part down pat.All you can do is trust the professionals you choose to put your faith in and work hard on proper recovery.

With the new age system, bacon is firmly wrapped around the shoulders, giving the players a protective layering of salty goodness. With this built in layer of salt, the shoulders toughen like a pork chop cooked by John Wayne. Grizzled. The opposition will no longer be able to concentrate instead focusing on that sweet sweet aroma.. Baaaam Stanley cup